The recently commissioned Ikamba offshore floating terminal is a key part of the Bauxite Hiills expansion project.
Metro Mining, the owner of the Bauxite Hills mine near Weipa, on Thursday announced a successful A$40-million placement that it would use to accelerate debt repayment.
The company has received binding commitments from sophisticated, experienced and professional investors to issue 975.6-million new shares at a discounted A$0.041 each. The placement is accompanied by a A$4-million share purchase plan (SPP).
Under the accelerated debt repayment plan, Metro would immediately repay A$21-million junior debt and a A$4-million working capital facility. A A$14-million junior debt repayment was scheduled for July.
The remaining proceeds from the placement, together with the proceeds from the SPP, would be allocated to expenses and working capital.
Metro said the accelerated repayments significantly strengthen its balance sheet.
The placement comes at a time when the company is positioned to deliver a step-change in cash generation through the completion of its expansion project.
The recent commissioning of the offshore floating terminal, Ikamba, and new wobbler circuit underpin an expansion of production capacity at Bauxite Hills to seven-million wet metric tonnes a year.
Bauxite Hills is forecast to produce between 6.3-million and 6.8-million wet metric tonnes in 2024. Metro has an offtake agreement for 6.9-million wet metric tonnes for the year.